Free Rumor Has It by Tami Hoag Page A

thing she really liked about Nick was his ability to make her laugh.
    Mavis Davies stuck her head out the door of the house. “Katie, Richard is out back with that countertop. Are we ready for it?”
    “Yes. I'll be right in, Mavis.” She started for the house, then glanced back at Nick. “Are you ready to get to work, Gypsy Rose Leone?”
    She clearly didn't believe him. Nick cast his gaze heavenward as Katie walked away. “I tried,” he whispered, scolding himself inwardly for being too much of a coward to try harder. Katie wasbusy, he rationalized. This really wasn't the best time to tell her.
    It wasn't that he was ashamed of being an erotic dancer. He was proud of putting together a tasteful, artistic, entertaining routine. He saw nothing objectionable about the performance he gave as the Highwayman. The problem was explaining it and making Katie understand. He didn't look at it as taking his clothes off for a living. Nick thought of it as providing fun, escapist entertainment, but knew there were a lot of people who wouldn't agree with his point of view. He had known his share of proper ladies who had considered him some sort of second- class citizen once they'd found out what he did for a living. He had to hope Katie wasn't one of them, he thought as he picked up their plates and followed her to the house.
    Not only did Nick gain prospective customers by showing up, he gained friends as well. After what Katie had told him about the rumors going around, he was a little nervous at first that he might not be accepted, but everyone was friendlyand glad to have an extra hand. While they enjoyed speculating about the new guy in town, they didn't seem to take the rumors seriously. The general mood was one of fun. And they were happy to be contributing to something that was for the good of the community.
    There were at least ten other people working around the house. Nick learned one thing about all of them—they liked and respected Katie and clearly thought of her as their leader even though she was younger than most of them. He felt proud when he looked at the lady who had become so important to him in such a short amount of time.
    With her hands on her hips Katie looked at the dining- room wall, which was much taller than she was, and said, “We need more ladders.”
    “I know,” John Harris said. “Bob Hughes had to take his two ladders home. His wife told him he had to paint the garage this weekend or she was going to burn the thing down.”
    Nick put his paint roller down and wiped his hands on his worn jeans. “You don't need another ladder, Katie,” he said with teasing lights in his dark brown eyes. “What you need is longer legs.”
    “Very amusing, Nick.” She made a face at himas he dropped down to his knees in front of her. “What is this? Your Toulouse- Lautrec impersonation?”
    “Sit on my shoulders.”
    “You've got to be kidding.” The mere thought of sitting on those broad shoulders had her tingling in places she'd forgotten she had. Her heart rate picked up a beat.
    “No. Climb on. Weren't you a cheerleader in high school?”
    “No.”
    “Well, I was. Climb on.” He motioned impatiently for her to follow his instructions. “What are you? Chicken?”
    “You said the magic words, Nick,” Darrell Baylor said, laughing at Katie's suddenly determined expression. “Nobody ever dared Katie Quaid and got away with it.”
    Against her better judgment Katie eased herself onto Nick's shoulders, her roller clutched in her right hand. The fingers of her left hand threaded into his thick black hair as he rose carefully, his muscles bunching and straining beneath her. “If you drop me, Leone, you're going to have a bald spot.”
    “I wouldn't dream of dropping you, kitten.”
    The endearment raised a few eyebrows among Katie's longtime friends and brought a blush to Katie's cheeks, though she had to admit she didn't mind Nick having a pet name for her. It struck her as odd, because she usually